Method of producing coat hanger material



Nov. 19, 1957 J. H. BATTS METHOD OF PRODUCING COAT HANGER MATERIAL Filed April 18, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 m r m WH m m,

Nov. 19, 1957 .1. H. BATTS 2,313,550

METHOD OF PRODUCING COAT HANGER MATERIAL 7 Filed April 1a, 1956 2 Sheets-Shea; 2

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' Afforne g METHOD OF PRODUCING COAT HANGER MATERIAL John H. Batts, Grand Rapids, Mich., assignor to John Thomas Batts, Inc., Grand Rapids, Micln, a corporation of Michigan Application April 18, 1956, Serial No. 578,987

Claims. (Cl. 144-309) The present invention is directed to a method or process of producing garment hangers, particularly hangers upon which coats, cloaks and the like are hung.

It is an object and purpose of the present invention to more easily, economically and. perfectly produce such garment hangers with a minimum of skilled labor required, also a minimum of material needed, and with an elimination of a major previously used band sawing operation which with the present invention is not required, and which removes one of the prior, most expensive skilled labor operations. a

, An understanding of my invention may be had from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which, i

Fig. l is a perspective view of two boards of the material, usually wood, which is used as they are treated before theyare disposed one over the other and glued together at their adjacent sides at the end portions thereof.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary elevation illustrating the glue joining together of said sections or members one above the other adjacent their end portions, with an intermediate elongated portion between the end portions free of connection.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the suceeding step of angularly sawing the projecting end portions from the glued together members.

Fig. 4 is a similar perspective view illustrating the sawing of a plurality of members from said glued together sections, one after the other and, as illustrated in curved form, though not necessarily restricted to the curved form.

Figs. 5 and 6 are fragmentary elevations showing the manner in which dovetailed joints are provided at opposite ends of the thin members which are provided by the member separating operation shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Figs. 5 and 6 illustrating the forming, and the manner in which formed, of the ends of the next succeeding curved strip after the first one.

Fig. 8 is an elevation showing the next succeeding step of operation which consists in separating the strips sawed, as in Fig. 4 by inclined saw cuts from the edges thereof to the ends of the intermediate glue free portion between the glued together end portions of the strips, thereby providing two arms of a garment hanger.

Fig. 9 is an elevation showing the manner in which the arms of separated strips are joined together at meeting ends to provide coat hanger forms having opposite downwardly extending arms, and

Fig. 10 shows one of the coat hanger forms as secured and glued together with an outline in dash lines of the completed hanger provided by machining portions of the arms at their upper sides, and with a central suspension hook and a horizontal garment supporting rod between the ends of the arms indicated for the completion of the garment hanger.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the different figures of the drawings.

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With themethod of processing and handling the mate rial from which coat or cloak garment hangers are made, two boards 1 and 2, of preferably wood material of preselected length and of any desired width are coated adjacent opposite ends at 3 with glue for a short portion of their length; and at the inner ends of each of the glue portions at 3 a transverse band 4, preferably of wax, is applied. Such sections are located one over the other with their glue surfaces in contact with the upper board 2 displaced a short distance lengthwise with respect to the lower board 1. The boards are placed with the lower one upon the base of a press 5 and are clamped by an upper pressure head 6. The boards 1 and 2 are thus securely glued together with one end of the upper board projecting a short distance beyond the adjacent end of the .lower board and, correspondingly, at its opposite end inset an equal distance from the adjacent opposite end of the lower board.

It will be apparent that after the parts have been glued together that a considerable intermediate length 7 of the board surfaces as at 7 in Fig. 2, are not glued together but are free of connection to each other. The wax bands 4 serve as a dam preventing the glue from passing by them. t

The succeeding step in operation is to saw the offset end portions from the glued together boards 1 and 2. This is done by a vertical saw 8 (Fig. 3) with the glued together boards inclined at an angle to the horizontal. .The end portions 9 are removed leaving plain or flat ends 10 which at one. end are at an acute angle to the horizontal andat .the'other at an obtuse angle thereto. The next step is to saw from such glued together boards relatively thin bands or members 12 (Fig. 4) using a band saw 11 which is moved lengthwise and in the path of an arc of a circle relative to the glued members. The number of the bands or members 12 which are made will depend upon the width of the boards 1 and 2, which width may be extended as far as can be conveniently handled, the width in most instances being increased by gluing the wood members or boards longitudinally at adjacent edges to a desired width.

While the members 12 are shown as of curved or arcuate form, which form is used to provide one type of a coat hanger well known by its trade name of Wishbone, it is apparent that straight cuts can be made lengthwise of the glued structure, in which case the final coat hanger will have straight arms incline downwardly in the same plane but will not curve downwardly and forwardly from their point of suspension.

The members 12 are then preferably provided at their ends with lock joint portions by suitable tongue and groove cutters 13 so that opposite ends of the parts 12 are pro vided with the tongue and groove joints 14. The two ends of a band or strip 12 are shown being cut in Figs. 5 and 6, the ends of the strip being reversed in the two figures and the cutter 13 having its angle of inclination changed. The next succeeding strip or band 12 is likewise provided with tongue and groove joints 14 at its ends but with the cutters 13 for said ends reversed in position from the position shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

All of the members 12 preferably after being formed with the joint portions 14 at its ends are then sawed with inclined thin saws 15, which cut from opposite upper and lower edges of the members 12 to opposite ends of the free unglued surfaces at 7 between the two upper and lower parts which are glued together at their end portions. This provides two arms, each enlarged at one end at 16, from which an elongated narrower arm 17 extends. The enlarged portions 16 carry the tongue and groove parts at 14.

To complete the hanger form two of such arms have their dovetailed tongues and grooves mated and glued together, the arms of any one of the members 12 being joined with arms of the next adjacent or succeeding mem bers 12.

There is thus provided a coat hanger form, as in Fig. 10 in full lines, which may be finished by cutting portions thereof particularly at its upper sides so as to be finished to the shape shown in dashed lines at 18 in Fig. 10. A suspension hook 19 in dash lines is added in the usual manner at the center of the hanger and extends upwardly therefrom and a cross rod at 20 may also be added or may not be used. Garment hangers in both forms with or Without the rod 20 are universally manufactured.

With the construction described a minimum of band and other sawing is required. The free separation of the boards 1 and 2 initially used along the plane and for the length of the line 7 and the provision of the glued together portions at the neck of the hanger permits an elimination of band sawing, for example, from the upper side of the member '12 in Fig. 8 from the upper side at one end to the lower side at the other end, sawing the full length of the plane indicated at the line 7 which previously has been done. There is greater economy and rapidity and a better product produced.

The invention is defined in the appended claims and is to be considered comprehensive of all forms of structure coming within their scope.

I claim:

1. The method of producing coat hangers which consists, in gluing together two flat boards, one over and against the other at contacting surfaces at the ends of said boards inwardly for predetermined limited distances, with relatively long intermediate adjacent surfaces of said boards between the glue connected end portions of the boards free of connection, cutting members of predetermined thickness from the glued together boards, cutting said members transversely outward from each end of the unconnected surfaces, from one end to the upper side of each member and from the other end to the lower side thereof, thereby providing from each member, two arms, each at one end having a widened portion equal to the combined thicknesses of said boards, and permanently joining the arms thus provided from said members at the widened ends thereof in pairs, the arms of each pair being generally in alignment.

2. The method of producing coat hangers which consists in providing a plurality of wood members of predetermined thickness, each consisting of two superimposed, flat, elongated bars glued together at contacting surfaces for a predetermined distance inward from the ends of said bars, with relatively long intermediate adjacent contacting surfaces of said bars between the glued surfaces free of connection to each other, cutting the upper of said bars from the upper side of each of said members downwardly to one of the ends of said unconnected surfaces, and cutting the lower of said bars from its lower side upwardly to the other ends of said unconnected surfaces.

3. The method of producing coat hangers which consists in gluing two superimposed boards at contacting surfaces at the end portions thereof for a preselected limited distance inwardly from each end, with relatively long intermediate adjacent surfaces of said boards between the glued surface portions free from connection, vertically sawing said boards lengthwise to provide a plurality of members of equal width, sawing each member from its upper side downwardly to one of the ends of said unconnected surfaces, and sawing each member from its lower side upwardly to the other ends of said unconnected References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 833,382 Greif Oct. 16, 1906 1,301,410 Dusenbery Apr. 22, 1919 1,918,516 Brown July 18, 1933 2,395,077 Southwick Feb. 19, 1946 

